Changing New Car Fuel Lables

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation are proposing different fuel economy labels for new cars. One suggested label uses a letter grade with an A+ going to electric vehicles. The other suggested label uses horizontal bars to compare mileage to other cars, the environmental impact of carbon emissions and a slider bar to depict cost of fuel rather than fuel savings.

Maintance Retains Fuel Estimates

The EPA determines fuel economy using cars with 5,000 miles to allow for the break-in period. The EPA says fuel economy typically improves in the first few years of ownership and will retain it's optimum gas mileage if properly maintained.

Fuel economy improves during first few years of ownership (new york city west side highway traffic image by Jorge Moro from Fotolia.com)